Breakdown of Mereka ingin makan kue manis di sore hari.
mereka
they
makan
to eat
di
in
sore hari
the afternoon
manis
sweet
kue
the cake
ingin
to want
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Questions & Answers about Mereka ingin makan kue manis di sore hari.
What does Mereka mean here?
Mereka is the third-person plural pronoun “they.” It refers to a group of people (excluding the speaker and the listener).
What part of speech is ingin, and what does it mean?
Ingin is a verb meaning “to want” or “to desire.” In this sentence, it expresses the subject’s desire to do something.
What’s the difference between ingin and mau?
Both ingin and mau can mean “want,” but:
- mau is more colloquial and very common in speech.
- ingin sounds a bit more formal or emphatic.
In most everyday conversations you’d say mereka mau makan kue manis, but ingin is perfectly fine and slightly more literary.
Why isn’t there an untuk before makan?
After verbs of desire like ingin, you attach the bare infinitive directly. You do ingin makan (want to eat) rather than ingin untuk makan. Adding untuk would be redundant here.
Could we use memakan kue instead of makan kue?
Yes, memakan kue is also grammatically correct because the prefix me- turns the root into a more transitive form (“to consume/eat up”). However, native speakers usually just say makan kue. Memakan can sound more formal or emphasize the act of eating completely.
Why is it kue manis and not manis kue?
In Indonesian, adjectives come after the noun they modify. So you say kue manis (cake sweet) just like rumah besar (house big) rather than flipping the order.
What exactly is kue in Indonesian?
Kue covers a broad range of sweet baked or steamed goods: cakes, cookies, pastries, traditional snacks, and desserts. It’s not limited to Western-style layer cakes.
What’s the role of di in di sore hari?
Here di is a preposition marking time. It’s similar to “in” or “at” in English when referring to parts of the day: di sore hari = “in the afternoon.”
Why do we say sore hari instead of just sore? Could we say di sore?
Sore on its own is an adjective meaning “afternoon” in contexts like waktu sore (afternoon time). But to form a standalone time expression you usually add hari: sore hari. It’s uncommon to say di sore by itself; people say di sore hari.
Can I place the time phrase at the beginning, like Di sore hari mereka ingin makan kue manis?
Yes. Indonesian word order is relatively flexible. Putting the time phrase first is perfectly natural and emphasizes “in the afternoon.” Both orders are fine:
- Mereka ingin makan kue manis di sore hari.
- Di sore hari mereka ingin makan kue manis.
Does this sentence indicate a specific tense?
Indonesian verbs aren’t marked for tense. Here ingin shows a present desire to eat at some point (probably soon). If you need to specify past or future more clearly, you’d add time markers, e.g. Kemarin mereka ingin… (yesterday) or Besok mereka ingin… (tomorrow).